Other Christening

The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old. more...

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History of ship naming

Ancient

A Babylonian narrative dating from the 3rd millennium BC describes the completion of a ship:

"Openings to the water I stopped;

I searched for cracks and the wanting parts I fixed:

Three sari of bitumen I poured over the outside;

To the gods I caused oxen to be sacrificed."

Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans called on their gods to protect seamen. The favor of the monarch of the seas — Poseidon in Greek mythology, the Roman Neptune — was evoked. Ship launching participants in ancient Greece wreathed their heads with olive branches, drank wine to honor the gods, and poured water on the new vessel as a symbol of blessing. Shrines were carried on board Greek and Roman ships, and this practice extended into the Middle Ages. The shrine was usually placed at the quarterdeck; on a modern United States Navy ship, the quarterdeck area still has a special ceremonial significance.

Different peoples and cultures shaped the religious ceremonies surrounding a ship launching. Jews and Christians customarily used wine and water as they called upon God to safeguard them at sea. Intercession of the saints and the blessing of the church were asked by Christians.

Ship launchings in the Ottoman Empire were accompanied by prayers to Allah, the sacrifice of sheep, and appropriate feasting. The Vikings are said to have offered human sacrifice to appease the angry gods of the northern seas.

Chaplain Henry Teonge of Britain's Royal Navy left an interesting account of a warship launch, a "briganteen of 23 oars," by the Knights of Malta in 1675:

"Two fryers and an attendant went into the vessel, and kneeling down prayed halfe an houre, and layd their hands on every mast, and other places of the vessel, and sprinkled her all over with holy water. Then they came out and hoysted a pendent to signify she was a man of war; then at once thrust her into the water."

Early Modern Age

While the liturgical aspects of ship christenings continued in Catholic countries, the Reformation seems, for a time, to have put a stop to them in Protestant Europe. By the 17th century, for example, English launchings were secular affairs. The christening party for the launch of the 64-gun ship-of-the-line Prince Royal in 1610 included the Prince of Wales and famed naval constructor Phineas Pett, who was master shipwright at the Woolwich yard. Pett described the proceedings:

Read more at Wikipedia.org